


Just Friends

by SerotoninShift



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Almost everyone at Burning Rescue is too dumb to live, Drabble, F/F, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24295282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerotoninShift/pseuds/SerotoninShift
Summary: Aina thinks Lio is an oblivious idiot. Lio thinks Aina isalsoan oblivious idiot. Turns out, they're both right.
Relationships: Aina Ardebit/Lucia Fex, Galo Thymos & Lucia Fex, Lio Fotia & Aina Ardebit, Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 16
Kudos: 179





	Just Friends

“Okay, Lio,” Aina says, “it’s time.”

“Time for what?” Lio says suspiciously, looking up from the paperwork on his desk.

“It’s time for the talk.”

“What?”

“I’m very happy for you both. But I want you to know that Galo is like a brother to me. So if you hurt him, you’ll catch these hands.”

She flexes. Her bicep bulges dramatically.

“Aina,” Lio says, “I’m not one hundred percent sure what you think is going on, but Galo and I are just friends.”

Aina squints at him.

“You’re wearing his shirt,” she points out. Lio looks down, looks back at Aina.

“Mine are all in the wash,” he says. 

“You packed him a lunch.”

“He always forgets!”

“You put a little note in it. He showed it to me. It said ‘Have a wonderful day, honeymuffin.’”

Lio blushes. “He _showed_ you that? We just call each other pet names as a joke. He started it.”

Aina squints harder.

“Okay,” she says. “So what I’m hearing is, you’re both idiots.”

“Look,” Lio says, “I will grant you that we push the boundaries of what ‘friendship’ looks like.” He puts finger-quotes around the word. “But that’s one of the things I like about Galo. He’s not caught up in toxic masculinity. He’s not afraid to show affection platonically.”

Aina is starting to get a weird look on her face. “Oh Jesus,” she says.

“Don’t worry,” Lio says, “I wouldn’t dream of taking advantage of his good nature. I’m perfectly happy with the friendship we have. If that’s what you’re worried about?”

“No, that wasn’t it,” Aina says. “At all.”

“Well, enough about me,” Lio says decisively. “I’d rather talk about more successful relationships. What’s Lucia up to today?”

Aina looks at him strangely.

“How should I know?” she says.

Lio furrows his brows. “Aren’t you two…” He makes a vague gesture.

“What?” Aina says, confused. Lio’s eyes widen.

“Never mind,” he says. 

“Wait, do you think we’re… _dating_ or something?” Aina says. “No, dude, we’re good friends, that’s all.”

“Well,” Lio says, “to be fair, she was sitting on your lap in the breakroom yesterday. You can see where I might have gotten the idea.”

“She’s just a huggy person,” Aina says. She raises an eyebrow. “It’s like you and Galo. She’s not afraid to show affection.”

“Hm,” Lio says dubiously.

“I don’t think she’s gay?” Aina says quizzically. “I think she’s got some kind of thing going on with Varys, she sits on him, too.” She sighs. “Oh well,” she says softly.

 _“Hm,”_ Lio says, even more dubiously.

***

“The _legs,”_ Galo whines pathetically. “I can’t _take_ it, Lucia. He put his feet up on his desk the other day in those leather pants and...” Galo bonks his head onto the table without finishing the sentence.

“I feel you, bro,” Lucia says, putting a sympathetic hand on Galo’s shoulder. “I have dreams about being smothered between Aina’s tonhongerekoogers.”

Galo snorts without lifting his head.

“Her _whats?”_ he says.

Lucia doesn’t answer, just makes a sort of despairing squeezing motion with both hands. 

“Can’t stop thinking about those dobohonkeros,” she says wistfully. “Really quality bonkhonagahoogs.”

“Uuuuuugh,” Galo moans. “I just want to get in between some long legs, is that too much to ask?”

“Galo, listen,” Lucia says, slamming a fist into her other hand. “We can’t just sit around being sad and horny. We need to take _action._ How do we get our hot crushes to swoon into our arms?”

“I don’t know, Lu,” Galo says, face still planted on the table. 

“Well, c’mon, let’s brainstorm! With my genius-level intellect and your unflagging enthusiasm, we should be able to come up with _something.”_

“I don’t want to make it weird, though,” Galo says, lifting his head a little. “We _live_ together. What if he doesn’t…”

Lucia steeples her fingers.

“This is just like in my fanfictions,” she mutters.

“What?”

“Galo! I’ve got it. Here’s what you need to do.”

***

Aina is surprised to see Lio's number pop up on her caller ID. It's kind of late at night. She picks up, slightly concerned.

“What’s up, Lio?” she asks.

“Aina,” Lio says. He's whispering. “Galo’s lying on the couch in nothing but a pair of briefs. He's asleep. Is that normal? Should I wake him up?”

“Well,” Aina says thoughtfully, “I guess… it’s _kind of_ normal? For Galo? Everyone at Burning Rescue has seen that guy’s junk at least once.”

“Okay,” Lio says. “I mean, there wasn’t a lot of privacy at the Burnish camp, it doesn’t _bother_ me. I’ve just never lived with anyone in a formal way, I don’t know what’s… acceptable. I guess Galo is pretty relaxed?”

Aina rolls her eyes.

“Sure,” she says, “let’s go with that.”

“You don’t _sound_ sure.”

“Lio, you're saying you came home late and he was asleep on the couch in his briefs?”

“Yes.”

“This is just like Lucia’s fanfictions,” Aina mumbles.

“What?” Lio says.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Aina says. “Either he’s just really comfortable around you or this is his roundabout way of hitting on you.”

“Well, he’s not hitting on me,” Lio says. “I think I would know.”

“Uh-huh,” Aina says.

“Well,” Lio says, sounding annoyed, “he’s not trying to flirt with me by eating my eclair directly out of my hand. That would be more obvious.”

“Are you making some kind of reference to how Lucia did that to me the other day?”

“Yes,” Lio says. “That is exactly what I’m referring too.”

Aina rolls her eyes again. “She does stuff like that all the time. She doesn’t have any concept of personal space. Also she really likes eclairs. It’s not flirting.”

“Uh-huh,” Lio says.

***

“It didn’t work,” Galo says to Lucia. “I don’t _think?_ He didn’t come home until late and I fell asleep. When I woke up it was morning and I had a blanket over me and there was a note on the coffee table that said ‘Hope you had a nice nap, sugarpie.’”

“Hmmm.” Lucia rubs her chin thoughtfully. “Likewise, none of my gambits have been successful on Aina. I give her all my spiciest fanfiction to read and she doesn’t even blink. Galo.” Lucia narrows her eyes. “Do you think our crushes… might be… _idiots?”_

“Oh no,” Galo says mournfully. _“I’m_ supposed to be the idiot, there can’t be _more_ of us!”

“This is getting more complicated by the second,” Lucia says. “But don’t worry. I’m going to think on it more. And when I put my mind to something, there’s no problem I can’t crack!”

“Let me know if you figure it out,” Galo says. “I’m at my wit’s end.”

“To be fair,” Lucia says, patting him on the shoulder, “that doesn’t take much.”

 _“Hey,”_ Galo says. Lucia just snickers.

***

Lucia marches into the break room the next day.

“Galo, you know the… _thing_ we’ve been talking about?”

Galo looks around the break room, shifty-eyed.

“Yeah, but Lu, now’s not really a good…”

“I’ve thought of a foolproof plan!” Lucia interrupts.

“Yeah?” Galo says. He looks trepidatious.

“I will enact it… _now!_ Watch and learn, Galo-tron!”

Lucia stands up on a chair. Then she steps onto the table.

“Aina!” she yells.

Aina turns, putting the coffee pot down.

“Yeah?” she says. She furrows her brow. “Lucia, why are you on the table?” she asks.

“The chair’s not high enough!” Lucia says. “Aina, I have a confession to make!"

“Okay?” Aina says.

“I think you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen!” Lucia says. “And not in a platonic way! I wanna date you! And smooch you on the mouth! I sat on your lap and showed you my erotic fanfiction with ulterior motives! But you didn’t get the hint! So I’m just saying it! Aaaaaaaa!” She ends the speech with a high-pitched shriek and then drops to one knee on the table, stretching her arms out.

“Please be my amazon girlfriend!” she says. “Have mercy on a small lesbian who just wants to be crushed between your muscular thighs!”

Aina’s face is slowly turning the same shade of pink as her hair.

“Really?” she says.

“Yeah, really!” Lucia says. “I thought I was being obvious but I guess not! So whaddya say?”

“Gosh,” Aina says, blushing harder. “I’ve always thought you were really cute. And smart. So… yes?”

“HOT DIGGITY DOG!” Lucia crows. She turns to Galo.

“Okay, now you,” she says. 

Galo gives her a very sour look.

 _“That’s_ your genius plan? Just blurt it out?”

Lucia gestures to Aina, who's smiling shyly into her coffee, still pinkish. “It _worked,_ didn’t it?” Lucia says indignantly.

“Okay, okay!”

Galo takes a deep, bracing breath and turns to the end of the table, where Lio is sitting, eyebrows raised, cup of coffee frozen halfway to his mouth.

“Hey, Lio,” he says.

Lio puts his coffee down.

“Galo Thymos,” he says, a warning tone in his voice, “are you serious right now?”

“Uh,” Galo says.

“Are you seriously about to confess to me,” Lio says.

“Well,” Galo says.

“You waited until _now?_ You could have done this weeks ago,” Lio says. His face is darkening into a scowl. “You’re telling me we could have been making out in storage closets _this entire time?”_

Galo blushes. He rubs the back of his neck.

“I didn’t know how to say it,” he says sheepishly.

“You _did_ say it, you reprobate, and then you _backpedaled!_ You called me ‘sweetie’ and then you said it was a joke.”

“I called you ‘sweetie’ on accident and then I panicked!” Galo says. “I didn’t want you to think I was being a creep!”

“I don’t think you’re a creep,” Lio says. “I think you’re an _idiot.”_ He stands up. 

Lio doesn’t even bother to walk around the table. He just shoves it out of the way to get to Galo. Lucia is still on top of the table when Lio knocks it over, and she falls, cackling gleefully, right into Aina’s waiting arms.

***

Ignis and Remi stare at the wreckage of the break room. The table is on its side. There’s coffee spilled on the floor, with pieces of a mug in it. No one is there; half of Burning Rescue has abandoned their posts.

“Well,” Ignis says, “I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. I just wish they could have picked a day I wasn’t already pulling a double shift.”

“Hey, boss,” Remi says, “you don’t have anything you want to say to me, do you?”

 _“No,”_ Ignis says flatly. “Clean this up.” He turns around and goes back into his office.

“Yes, sir,” Remi mumbles, and goes to get the mop.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to rabidgopher for the beta!


End file.
